TEMPERANCE | jack wilder

xii. the negotiation

By then the Horsemen grew rigid, Walter just laid a hand on their youngest Horsemen. Evelynn narrowed her eyes a bit and calmly spoke. "Are you? You have a unique way of showing it."

"So," he began to let her go, smiling. "How'd I do it? Easy, you see magicians like to control other people's perceptions. In your heighten state of agitation you saw the simplest choose, black tube roof and your mind built west. The tube you meant to go down was twenty feet to your right. Oh, come on don't stand, sit, sit down."

The guards pushed them over to the couch and they sat. "Anyways, what's in the tube and you're right. While the strobe contained UB letters causing you all to sleep. That combined with sound knocked you out. Evelynn, however, was a different case. From our, or should I say, your files it says that she couldn't be hypnotized. We also added sleeping gas, but she seemed to have found that out. So, we had a backup, someone there to drug her. Unfortunately, she had to be dealt with the hard way, but that was fine by me. After than on it really was just fun," he sat in between all of them on the couch and turned on the television. "I can assure you, you don't know what happened."

The TV displayed pictures of them unconscious with Walter in it. Selfies, to be specific.

"That's really creepy," Lula commented. "Like really, really creepy."

"I don't think I've ever been more embarrassed, annoyed, frustrated, and freaked out all at the same time, in my life," Evelynn noted.

"Easy stuff, magic," Walter said chuckling. "I mean if you put your mind to it."

"All right, that's enough," Daniel said fed up with all of it. "So, why are we here? Besides, you getting to show off how adorably clever you are."

"Well, to start with, the man you stole from last year. Turns out I've invested quite a lot of money inside of his company. So a lot of what you stole was, in fact, mine," he explained. "Good news is it's very easy for you to pay me back. I just need your skills. Owen and I were like the Beatles if the Beatles were geniuses."

"Pretty sure the Beatles were geniuses," Lula piped in quietly.

"And like them, we had a dream, could we make actual genuine magic."

"I'm guessing one of you did achieve that dream," Merritt told him. "And it wasn't you."

"That is what he would like you to think. My vision was a perfect blend of elegance and technology but Owen wanted it for himself. So he humiliated me by exposing my private files to the Board of Directors. Convinced them that I was unstable."

"Did you take a picture of him while he was sleeping?" Daniel asked.

"He got me kicked out of my own company," Walter continued as if Daniel never spoke. "And now he goes around taking credit for a chip that's not just a key for one computer, but every computer system on the planet. It an unencrypt anything, crack the defense bar wall, open black markets, and spy on anyone. Now, it's being sold to the highest bidder."

"If you're so rich, why don't you just buy it?" Jack questioned.

"So he can get the money and the pleasure? No, besides why would I buy it when I can have you steal it for me? It's being previewed tomorrow to the various suitors. Which includes your target, a South African Gangster."

"South African gangster," Lula repeated in disbelief.

"Yes, seems like it's up Evelynn, can I call you Evelynn? Evelynn's alleyway. Anyway, how you're supposed to get through security, that's up to you but once you do all you need to do is inspect it and steal it."